Down the Shore Everything’s Going to Be Allright.

Last Monday while I was in Florida, the eye of hurricane Sandy (I’m sorry superstorm just sounds ridiculous) made landfall in my home town of Sea Isle City, NJ.

I grew up on a small island, which is much like the other small islands off the coast of New Jersey. Most people don’t know these towns, little beach towns like Avalon, Sea Isle or Strathmere. They’ve heard of Atlantic City or Cape May and even Seaside Heights from it’s Jersey Shore fame.

And from Florida I felt New Jersey hold it’s collective breath because we always knew it could happen. Living near the coast you always know.

The images on TV were surreal and watching it from so far away was painful. Not knowing how friends or our home was holding up in the storm. Thank god for Facebook. Which I constantly checked to see how everyone was faring.

And thank god for good friends and neighbors who lent a hand when our basement started to flood.

When we got home the damage to our home was minimal. We checked my parents house in Sea Isle, the water got up about 18 inches in the garage. The water has never so much as touched their garage in the past. My Dad’s car is a total loss.

But all of these things are minor, compared to what the businesses suffered and the towns to our north suffered unimaginable losses. Homes just washed away, lives leveled.

And amidst it all I can’t help but think about how lucky we are. Lucky that things are replaceable and repairable. Lucky that our little town wasn’t wiped off the map. Lucky that Sea Isle escaped the brunt of the storm by a mere 60 miles.

I feel grateful for what we have, knowing so many have lost so much. Knowing that a small change in that storm could have been life changing for my town, family and friends.

And I’m amazed by how people are pulling together. I am inspired by donations my friends have been making to shelters and churches and first responders. I smile every time an out of state power company passes me on the parkway.

It is so easy to turn a blind eye. So simple to complain about small losses when others have suffered more. It’s easy to say, “Oh they shouldn’t have built there home on the beach”.

But the truth is disaster can strike anywhere, at anytime. Hurricanes, tornado’s, earthquakes. No one is immune to the possibility of disaster.

So in this month of Thanksgiving, let’s all find a way to be thankful. It doesn’t take much. A little time, a little money.

Locally many places are accepting donations of food, paper products, personal products etc.. Many of these items can be found at your local dollar store. Animal shelters are also looking for donations. And I know many of the local shelters are still feeding people and are in need of hot meals and food daily.

The Red cross is also collecting money and today ABC/Disney is sponsoring a day of giving.

As a mom I think this is a great opportunity to teach Jack about charity, generosity and being thankful.

And as a Jersey girl I’m happy to have a chance to give back to my home.

Remember Jersey we survived Snookie, I’m sure we will survive Sandy. ; )

“Cause down the shore every thing’s all right, you and your baby on a Saturday, there’s nothing wrong in this whole wide world when you’re in love with a Jersey girl” -Jersey Girl

“The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss

The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody’s out on the run tonight but there’s no place left to hide
Together Wendy we’ll live with the sadness
Ill love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl I don’t know when were gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go and well walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us baby we were born to run”
-Born to Run

All photos were taken prior to Hurricane Sandy. There are enough pictures of the devastation out there, I prefer to think of it the way it was.